Monroe firefighters train to save lives and to beat the heat

Temperatures are heating up and you would think firefighters are used to it, but during the summer, they are really in the hot seat.

Nicole Butler went out to Monroe County Emergency Services to see how they train to beat the heat.

Firefighters work hard to fight the flames, but the fire isn't the only thing that concerns them. There's also dehydration, and with the summer heat beating down, the three layers of clothing can really heat things up.

With the heat index, it feels like 101 degrees, but inside a suit, it can feel up to 150. Now the gear alone is about 45 pounds, but with all of this extra equipment that they need, it can be about 85 lbs.

"And that's just standing out here outside in the sun. Once we actually go into a burning building, it can be anywhere from 400 to a thousand degrees inside the building, and you're feeling the majority of that heat," Adams says.

Adams says the job never gets old, thinking back to memories that really ignited this adrenaline.

"Me and another firefighter was actually inside when the second story of the house actually collapsed in on us and we were lucky enough to be close to the back of the house, so we drove through the back windows to make sure we made it out," he says.

Fire Captain Shane Cook says the job is physically demanding, but the hardest part is overcoming mental roadblocks.

"Training helps us push each other to our limits so we know what our limits are," Cook says.

Cook says they are a "what if" organization, so they train for every situation they think they may bump into, covering everything from putting out fires to removing victims from vehicles with the jaws of life to dealing with dense smoke.

They sometimes use a thermal imaging camera to help spot their teammate through the thick wall of smoke, but even with these tools, it can be confusing to find your way out of a fire.

Firefighters know if they ever get disoriented to make their way to the hose. Once you do that, you'll make your way to the metal cup link, you'll feel smooth, bump bump, and you'll know you're going the right way to the pump.